<p>I'm not sure whether or not to waive the right to see my letters of reccomendation.</p>
<p>How would it be viewed if I didn't waive the right to see them and opted instead to see them? Would colleges look negatively upon this?</p>
<p>Yes, they would. You should waive your right -- it's the standard thing to do.</p>
<p>Don't put yourself in the situation where you aren't sure whether your reccomendations are good. If you are unsure that it will be good say, "Mr(s). So and So, I am applying to some very competitive schools and I was wondering if I could get an excellent reccomendation from you?" Be straight forward with the teacher. They will tell you straight up if they can help or not.</p>
<p>Waiving your rights implies the writer will not be hesitant to include unfavorable comments.</p>
<p>I know a teacher who writes great recs, but he is also very honest and specific. A girl last year asked him for a rec and he gave, in the letter, her exact grades (which btw weren't stellar). Anyway, she opened the letter, saw that, and got another teacher to write it for her. Had she not opened it, she could have been screwed.</p>
<p>They would see the grades on her transcript...</p>
<p>Waiving indicates that your teacher was able to write the truth. That's a big plus. Specifics including strengths and weaknesses are very important and will do much more to help students get in than recommendations so overly glowing that they look fake or recommendations that are so vague as to be wrothless.</p>
<p>As for what halopeno says, I agree with Smytty.</p>
<p>But he phrased it like "She did C+ work and I ended up rounding her up, but she got a B the first semester and I saw a definite reduction in quality of work." Its not necessarily the numbers, its how its worded. He is great for giving recs (He is doing one for me) but if you aren't good, he'll tell the college. I'm just providing an example where waiving the right would have screwed a girl.</p>
<p>That's why you always ask the teacher if they're willing to write a good recommendation for you. As halopeno says, if you're clear that you need excellent recs, the teacher should be clear about whether or not they're willing/able to do that for you.</p>
<p>halopeno, what would said teacher say about a student like me? just in general terms</p>
<p>You don't need to take 12th grade english</p>
<p>haha, too bad that's not possible</p>
<p>My school requires that we waive the right to read every recommendation, including those not for colleges. They have their own form that we must sign before the school allows any recs to be sent out.</p>
<p>Waive the right.</p>
<p>If you really want to read the rec, ask your teacher to give you a copy. I asked one of my teachers last year for a summer program rec, and he gave me a copy to look over before sending it out himself. My sister also asked one teacher for a college rec, and he gave her a copy as well.</p>
<p>In my school one of the teachers insists on a stamped envelope so that she can mail it herself. I think that is to prevent the students from opening the envelope (which is unethical on the part of the student anyway). But the good part is that she will hesitate to to give a recommendation if she doesn't have a good opinion of the student. So we get the message and ask someone else!</p>
<p>theoneo -- "waiving the right" means you promise that you WON'T ask your teacher to give you a copy...</p>
<p>Actually, "waiving the right" means that you won't DEMAND to see the letter, either from the teacher or the college. You can still ask the teachers and they can still give it to you voluntarily.</p>
<p>One of my teachers always signs across the sealed envelope so that if you opened it up then you would be able to tell that it was disturbed.</p>
<p>I don't think so. At least on the common app, the box you check on the teacher rec form says:</p>
<p>"YES, I do waive my right to access, and I understand I will never see this information." (<a href="http://www.commonapp.org/OnePDF.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.commonapp.org/OnePDF.pdf</a>)</p>
<p>That sounds to me like a promise never to look at the letter, and that's what I remember signing for non-common app schools, as well.</p>
<p>Think of this from the school's perspective ... in which recommendation would you place more wieght ... one where the student waived their right to see the recommend and you know the teacher felt free(r) the write their true view? ... or one where the teacher knows the student (and their parents) may see the contents. To me waiving the right to see the recommendation is the only way to go ... and, as others mentioned, first make sure the teacher will give you a favorable recommendation.</p>
<p>if you don't waive it, don't worry about. i didn't waive any of my rights (i didn't know that I should've), and it didn't hurt (i got admitted). i think it's very sneaky to predetermine that a recommendation is more honest and credible if it has been waived. they should just pop the question upfront and be honest about it, even if some applicants these days are not. naturally, if you're going to ask someone to write you a recommendation, that person should think highly of you.</p>